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Corporate donors see Fitchburg Family Health Center as win-win

By Alana Melanson, amelanson@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
11/17/2013 11:27:12 AM EST

Rollstone Bank & Trust has donated $50,000 this year to Community Health Connections, including $25,000 earlier this month from its golf tournament. From left are Elizabeth Sodano of CHC; Dr. Robert J. Babineau Jr. of CHC; Martin F. Connors, Jr., president and CEO of Rollstone; and Arlene Betteridge, CHC.
(COURTESY PHOTO)

FITCHBURG -- Over the course of the campaign to raise money to complete Community Health Connections' new Fitchburg Family Health Center, many adult and corporate donors have stepped up to the plate, providing their time and funds for the cause.

Ed Cronin, 60, of Fitchburg, who has previously served as police chief of both Fitchburg and Gardner, two of the main communities served by CHC, has been working on the Homestretch Campaign for the past five months and said he and all of the team members have financially supported the effort. He said there are many ways the community can contribute, and he's seeing many companies and their employees take on fundraising as a whole, because they understand the impact their donations will have.

"I don't think there's anyone out there who doesn't have a friend who doesn't have access to health insurance or a doctor," Cronin said.

He called the new health center "a win-win for everybody."

During his years in law enforcement, Cronin said he gained intimate knowledge of the important role proper health care plays in a community. He saw a lot of crime, poverty, sickness, addiction and mental-health issues, and came to the realization that law enforcement could not be successful unless basic health services were available for all.

"As police chief, I learned you could arrest people all day long, but if you're not providing basic services for people, especially in the area of mental health, you're just putting a Band-Aid on a very bad problem," Cronin said.

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If people aren't physically healthy, he said, the community can't be expected to perform. In the "hot spots" of the world, Cronin said, it's often one of the underlying issues leading to unrest.

Cronin said he believes the current state of political affairs in the city, which he still calls home, and especially its political leadership, have "crossed a tipping point," and that the new health center will be essential to Fitchburg moving forward.

"I think we're moving forward in a very progressive way," he said. "We've learned that applying old solutions to new problems doesn't work.

"I think the community health center represents part of that new beginning we have in the community today to address problems seriously and intelligently, and be able to make Fitchburg a healthy, vibrant community by realizing we have to have these building blocks."

Ray LaFond, senior vice president of commercial lending for Enterprise Bank, which has been a financial partner of CHC since its inception, agreed that the quality health care offered by CHC is "a critical asset" for the region.

"To me, it's a diamond in the rough in North Central Massachusetts," he said. "We all need to partner together to see that it's a success, because we will all benefit from it."

LaFond, who serves on the finance committee for the fundraising steering committee, said CHC fills a growing need in the community, not just for the uninsured and low-income folks, but for everyone. He said CHC also takes the burden off local hospitals by reducing the number of uninsured and underinsured people using emergency rooms for primary care.

LaFond said others should support the center because of how it serves the citizens.

"That's the lifeblood of the community out here," he said. "The people are part of the economic engine that keeps our cities alive and vibrant, and they all have medical needs. This is a great institution that is going to provide that and help keep our communites strong."

Rollstone Bank & Trust was an early fundraising partner in the Homestretch Campaign, committing $25,000 at the beginning of the year. The bank also put forward a $25,000 matching challenge to HealthAlliance physicians -- who far exceeded the challenge amount -- making the bank's total contribution $50,000, said Martin F. Connors Jr., Rollstone's president and CEO.

"In my mind, it's the right thing to do," Connors said. "It's consistent with us trying to create a better community."

He said the bank also supports CHC directly though Senior Vice President of Wealth Management Melissa Maranda's involvement as treasurer on the CHC board and his own involvement on the board of HealthAlliance Hospital, a strong partner with CHC.

Connors said the new, state-of-the-art health center is "very important" to Fitchburg.

"It's going to help create a healthier population," he said. "They serve 25,000 people a year there. Last year they had over 115,000 visits. That's a big deal."

Connors said Dr. Robert Babineau Sr., who founded the residency program at CHC, was his doctor as a child, and his son, Dr. Robert Babineau Jr., who has also been a major fundraiser for the new facility, is his doctor now. Both are committed and dedicated people, Connors said.

"They're very good people," he said. "They always had a great love of Fitchburg, and committed to their patients in Fitchburg, and I admire that, having grown up in Fitchburg myself."

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